Defying the Prince

Maybe he was finally getting his comeuppance, Matteo thought. He’d occasionally wished that there was one person in his life who would behave naturally around him, but now that he was faced with the reality he was fast rethinking the perceived benefits. ‘Miss Jackson—’ his attempt at formality seemed ridiculous given the circumstances ‘—Izzy.’

‘What?’ Reluctantly she lifted her head and huge eyes heavily outlined in kohl stared up at him. Sky-blue eyes were fringed by long, thick eyelashes that surely had to be false.

The scent of her perfume curled itself round his senses and for a moment his brain refused to work. She smelt of a summer’s day and suddenly he could see her naked and lush lying in a carpet of bluebells, all that strawberry hair tangled around her flushed cheeks.

‘I truly didn’t mean to ruin the party.’ Her words were slightly slurred. ‘Are you very, very angry? Are you going to lock me in the dungeon and throw away the key?’

Matteo had never found it so hard to concentrate. ‘Right now I can’t decide whether to shake you or throw a bucket of cold water over you.’

She pulled a face. ‘That doesn’t sound nice. For me or your carpet. Can’t you think of something else to do with me?’

Crush his mouth to hers and kiss her until they were both crazy with it?

Strip off that outrageous dress and find out if the rest of her was as soft as her arms?

His gaze dropped from hazy blue eyes to the perfect curve of her soft, pink lips.

His mouth had moved dangerously close to hers when the door opened.

Matteo released her instantly, but not before he’d seen the surprise in her eyes—surprise he was fairly sure was mirrored by his own expression.

Fury mingling with exasperation, he turned.

His brother’s fiancée, Allegra, stood there, her face pale.

Struggling to balance without Matteo holding her, Izzy took a wobbly step backwards, her expression concerned. ‘Ally, are you all right?’

‘Izzy, how could you?’ Allegra kept her voice low but if anything that show of restraint intensified the emotion behind her words. ‘What did you think you were doing?’

Matteo was asking himself the same question.

What had he been doing?

Half a minute later and he would have done something both parties would have lived to regret.

Relieved to have been rescued from a course of action that was not only uncharacteristic but would have ended badly, Matteo watched as a shocked flush spread over Izzy’s rounded cheeks.

‘I was going to sing you a song.’ Her tone was defensive and hurt. ‘It was something that I—’

‘I wasn’t talking about the song, although that was embarrassing enough because normal people don’t just walk up to someone and grab the microphone. I’m talking about the way you spoke to His Royal Highness.’ Allegra’s mortified gaze slid to Matteo and she sank into a respectful curtsey. ‘I beg your pardon, Sir. My sister isn’t used to being around royalty.’

‘So I gathered.’ He tried to ignore the thought that it was precisely her freshness and lack of stilted conversation that made Allegra’s sister so dangerously attractive.

Izzy’s heavily made-up features were stiff. ‘Don’t apologise for me,’ she said flatly. ‘If there’s any apologising to do, I’ll do it myself.’

‘If?’ Allegra breathed deeply. ‘Of course you should apologise. In fact, if the story in the press tomorrow is about you then you’d probably better make a public apology.’

Matteo watched as Izzy wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture that was too much for the dress and another scarlet sequin sprang loose and landed on the priceless Aubusson carpet.

‘They say whatever they like, rega

rdless of whether it’s true. I don’t care. And normally you don’t care either.’

‘Well, I care now! It will be another bad story about the Jacksons. It’s always awful but this time it’s doubly embarrassing because you’ve dragged the royal family into it. This engagement party was supposed to introduce the Jackson family to the people of Santina. It was supposed to be about Alex and me. The headlines were supposed to be Prince in Love but now they’re more likely to be Hospitality Better at Burger Bar.’ Allegra threw a mortified look of apology to Matteo before turning back to her sister. The girl stood rigid as a flagpole.

‘I was just singing. Not the greatest crime known to mankind.’

‘They had a singer! And you pushed him out of the way because you just had to be the one in the limelight. You need to stop this stupid singing obsession and get a proper job!’